Where Islam spreads, freedom dies

I went to the Fortress of the Moors today, Almodóvar del Río. It was re-acquired by Fernando the Saint, the same king who recaptured Cordoba from the Mohammedans, although the castle was ceded by treaty, not taken by storm. Would have been a hard fight to assault this castle: long, winding, steep slopes up, all within archer range. It was hard enough to walk up unopposed.

Ahmed Akkari is the Muslim who helped stir up the Danish cartoons crisis, but has now recanted many of his views. See previous stories about him here and here.

Ahmed Akkari is going to carry on with his speaking tour despite police arresting fifteen people and confiscating 209 maroons at his latest meeting in Aarhus yesterday

Islam critic and former imam Ahmed Akkari was escorted home by the police after a meeting in Gellerup Parken housing estate in Aarhus last night.

Martin Kjær Jensen, a reporter for the tabloid BT, arrived with Akkari and said people began throwing rocks at them upon their arrival.

"Someone threw rocks at the taxi Akkari was in," he said. "I was in the car with him and we had to run a red light to get away."

Although Akkari was surrounded by 40 police officers who also established stop-and-search zones, it didn't keep some young people from harassing him and lighting maroons.

Today police released the 15 people they arrested during the course of the evening. They also reported that they confiscated 209 maroons they suspect were to be set off during the meeting.

Akkari has come under criticism from within the Muslim community for announcing in July that he regretted travelling through the Middle East in 2005 in order to encourage groups there to call on Denmark to officially apologise for Jyllands-Posten newspaper’s printing of the Mohammed cartoons earlier that year.

Two months ago a group of Islamists also posted a video featuring five Syrian rebels shooting a photo of Akkari and five other Danish Islam critics.

Akkari's meeting at Gellerup Parken last night was the third stop on a speaking tour with Christian Råbjerg Madsen, a Socialdemokrat candidate for parliament. The two are visiting troubled neighbourhoods around Denmark.

During their previous stop, in the Vollsmose council estate in Odense, they were shouted at and people threw rocks at them.

Despite the incidents, Madsen said last night's meeting was the best attended so far and he still thinks it is important to carry on with the tour.

"It can't always be pleasant to do what is right," he told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. "The debate over how we can prevent people from ending up the way Akkari was in 2005 is important for integration in this country."

Warning: this article was written by Yvonne Ridley, the sad case journo who went to Afghanistan, was kidnapped by the Taliban, then converted to Islam after being released, in a bizarre case of deferred Stockholm Syndrome. Since then she has been active in agitating for Muslim causes and is national chairman of the Muslim-dominated Respect party. Apparently, she now lives in Scotland.

THE Yes campaign may be gaining in momentum but its success or failure could be determined by an unlikely group of Scots – those coming from the Muslim community.

They represent less than 2 per cent of the Scottish population but in a battle that has divided public opinion some are beginning to wonder if Muslims could swing the balance of power. Campaigners on both sides are slogging it out for every single vote and the final battleground could be fought in those households belonging to Scotland’s most recent arrivals.

That Muslims in Scotland could produce a Bannockburn-style victory for the Yes campaign has not been lost on the SNP. They might represent only 1.4 per cent of the population in Scotland but in a country which could be split down the middle come next year, Muslims could tip the vote in favour of independence.

Census figures released at the end of September show that in the last decade the number of Muslims in Scotland has nearly doubled, from 40,000 to 77,000. More confident than their English counterparts, it seems integration – while preserving religious identity – has been much easier than elsewhere in the UK. This was supported in 2010 by a poll, for the British Council Scotland, which found six out of ten Scots believed Muslims were integrated into everyday Scottish life.

The survey, carried out by Ipsos Mori, also revealed that 46 per cent of those questioned thought that Muslims living in Scotland were loyal to the country. Will that loyalty prove stronger than loyalty to the Union? A leading question indeed and one that, for the time being, remains unanswered.

Rowena Arshad, director of the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland, said at the time: “The finding that 65 per cent of survey respondents have some degree of favourability towards Muslims is, to some extent, reassuring, regarding the future of Scottish community relations.

“Scotland is a small country but, as the research shows, there is potential that it is not a country of small minds.”

The concept of independence is nothing new for the older generations in the Muslim community and their influence could also sway the younger ones, especially those drawn from Pakistan and Indian communities, which emerged as sovereign nations following the end of the British Raj rule in 1947.

The Bangladeshi communities had to wait until 1971 before enjoying the same status, so could this now be seen as an opportunity to strike back at Empire after generations of their ancestors were forced to endure British colonialism?

A vigil was held outside the church, protesting against the action. The protesters carry placards highlighting the persecution of Christians by Muslims worldwide. One sign reads "Allahu Akbar doesn't belong in the church".

"Sturla Nøstvik ( 36 ) sensed no danger before he was beaten in his forehead with a gun. It was the start of a 50 minute long hell as a hostage. The robbers became insecure and threatened Sturla to make him say that the robbers were not dark-skinned, but white. Sturla assumes they are of Somali origin.

Women are raped in the night in Oslo, the amount of robberies is increasing fast. In the last ten years, more than 4,000 people have been robbed in the Oslo center and Greenland (Muslim dominated area) area, mostly by young men.
Sturla Nøstvik is robbery victim #351 in Greenland this year alone, while in the same period more than 50 rapes in Oslo have been reported. Police visited Sturla Nøstvik when he was at the emergency room for treatment after the robbery . .... He is blind in his left eye, so he is so glad it went did not go worse. The cut in the forehead is just above the healthy eye.
The police told me that everyone has a right to feel safe, but they are unable to prevent robberies. 'We've lost the city', they said."

The beautiful game was truly left in shatters this week when a group of West Ham fans started hurling racial abuse at a small group of fellow Muslim football supporters who were praying in the concourse of the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand at Upton Park, in east London. On the Facebook page where the videos were posted, a number of comments made jokes about the incident. One comment made was: "I'm no racist but seeing bout 30 Muslims get their prayer mats out at half time in front of a loada west ham fans at the game in the concourse has to be one of the dumbest things they can do if they don't wana be targeted or stereotyped in society. # Not doing yourself any favours."

I am sorry but this person has already displayed a level of bigotry and stereotypes that has made English football a place of difference #Not doing yourself any favours. I mean what is so funny about a group of Muslim men praying? This type of 'them versus us' culture permeates throughout English football and indeed racism and anti-Muslim prejudice is rife according to the Professional Footballers Association. This level of noxious abuse is crystallised when we see incidents like the above. Indeed, there is anecdotal evidence of further levels of Islamophobia at football matches when fans are making both anti-Muslim chants and direct threats against those who practise Islam.

Watching a live football match is a real highlight. The atmosphere can be electrifying and there is real sense of passion and identity that can transcend race, gender, ethnicity and background. Football fans are an interesting group of people that bring a lot of colour and diversity to football games. That level of trust and loyalty is something which many of us could learn from. However, this incident really does strike at the heart of a wider problem within society and that is a problem with Islamophobia.

Boualem Sansal has just published a book called "Gouverner au nom d'Allah: Islamisation et soif de pouvoir dans le monde arabe". I bought it last night but haven't had time to read it yet. Maybe I'll post about it later. He gave this interview to a Belgian newspaper.

What insight can a writer bring by “regarding a subject in a literary manner”?

Boualem Sansal : I make it clear right away that I am not a specialist in Islam, to speak freely. We need writers of all sorts, but I am interested in the social phenonomena of our era. It’s why I would like to recapture the engagement of writers of an earlier age. Like a detached caste, they remain absent from public debate, instead of being actors in it. When you are confronted with a situation as menacing for society as islamisation, you need to become militant. Writing isn’t enough to move things forward. This book aims to go beyond simplistic discourse to examine the deep mechanisms. I fervently hope it will provoke a true debate.

How do you explain the silence of the Arab intellectuals, whom you call a “vector of islamism”?

What strikes me is that this silence has always existed, whatever the subjects that cut across all societies (divorce, homosexuality or the economic crisis). It is even linked to the structure of Arab-Muslim society itself, dictatorial or feudal. At best, the intellectuals are troubadours repeating the official discourse. Those who live in the west also remain mute. How to wake them up? The movement Writers for Peace – which I founded with the Israeli writer David Grossman – has great difficulty in mobilising them because they fear being excommunicated or assassinated. It’s the job of the intellectual to overcome fear. Otherwise he becomes a soldier.

As an Algerian, what have you experienced?

I have seen Islamism arrive beneath my windows. Within a few years, it destroyed families, a culture, an economy and lives, while spreading everywhere. We cannot remain indifferent in the face of this phenomenon which may arrive in your home too. Rather than becoming militant, people watch TV without batting an eye. Look at Hollande who never named the enemy during his visit to Mali. Not naming the Islamists amounts to protecting them!

One of the key things is to distinguish between Islam and Islamism.

This book recalls that Islamism was born from Islam thanks to a gradual shift. Where does the first start? In the aggressive will to dominate and in the will to impose an ideology on the greatest number. It is fuelled by certain Muslim radicals, but Islam has rarely been tranquil. Preaching proselytism, it has often imposed itself by the sword and weapons.

Why this return to the religious, as Malraux predicted?

Humanity seeks happiness. All means are good for living in peace, but because of demography, the resources run out. A powerful system is needed, and so a totalitarian one. Whether it is Communism or capitalism, all the models are failing. Previously, people turned to esotericism Now it’s Islam, which is spreading at a prodigious rate. The Muslim countries don’t have many choices. Locked in, they don’t have access to modernity. To the extent that some of them feel they experienced centuries of humiliation with western colonisation. The desire to bring back a conquering Islam explains the success of the Muslim Brotherhood, who want to “erase the insult”. An inspiring vengeance, multiplied by the obligation to spread the word of God and convert as many people as possible.

“Islamise the world, not only the Muslim countries.” What explains this enthusiasm in Europe, whether in young Muslims or converts?

The decline of the West is particularly propitious for it. Europeans no longer believe in the future of Europe, which has neither army not diplomacy and shows itself incapable of managing the economic crisis. Those who aspire to world domination are doing well, thanks to oil and double-digit growth. So take advantage of the weakness to finish off the beast! I am frightened by the lightning growth of European Islamism in less than ten years. When you are tired, you attract every ailment… Another cause: the identitarian crisis. It’s not just that the European identity doesn’t emerge from it, but it is also breaking the existing system. Those who are not of this culture cannot and do not want to integrate into it. Furthermore, the “countries of origin” are doing everything they can to counter successful integration. They are afraid that if the North African communities Frenchify or Belgify themselves, they will “pervert” their culture. This is what explains the spider’s web constitued by the opening of innumerable mosques, Arabic lessons or the Amicale des Algériens en Europe [an association for people of Algerian origin]. The immigrant communities are instrumentalised. The governments play this double game that consists of recruiting imams while these countries proclaim themselves to be secular. Result? “Les jeunes” don’t feel Belgian, French or German, even though the third generation is born in Europe. What a failure!

You denounce just as firmly the hypocrisy of the politicians who aggravate the situation.

If anyone is responsible for the dramatic situation in Europe, it’s the politicians. They represent a danger because, by virtue of going from compromise to compromise, they go from one abandonment of principle to another. This cynicism drives them to ally themselves with anyone, just as Gaddafi was received at the Elysée in exchange for fabulous contracts. The Arab countries represent a big market that must not be alienated. The same for the “Arab Spring”, perceived by western observers as a revolutionary movement, although it was really about spontaneous anger, which was then recaptured by the Islamists. Blinkered, the politicians prefer to preach “stability” for the region, in order to keep business going. Both in Europe and in the Arab countries, there are colossal resources for disseminating Islamist ideas (distributing free copies of the Koran, for example). Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran and rich American or French backers make big contributions for this purpose. So they offer bursaries to train engineers and nuclear specialists, in order to establish their power. Unlike Obama, these countries have no money constraints. The Islamists are strong in numerous fields: the management of international finance, the political-economic world, halal commerce, social movements, so-called charitable works (one of the strengths of the Muslim Brotherhood) or the media. Bravo, they have infiltrated everything! Even the internet and the media, like Al Jazeera, which doesn’t hesitate to corrupt ministers, intellectuals and journalists to preach Islam in evangelical fashion. The western press is also affected, since they pay reporters with the aim of presenting a different vision of Islam. We need to denounce these people and encourage investigative journalists to look into the Islamic literature in Belgium, for example. They would be surprised…

“A new vivre ensemble [way of living together]”, can you envisage it?

Not really... That would be work for the long term. At a minimum, it would require peace in the Arab-Muslim countries, including between secular communities and Muslims, but that doesn’t develop on its own. The vivre ensemble will be viable if it is provided within a legal framework, but lots of people will do everything to impede that. I don’t believe in democracy in the Arab-Muslim world. It will only see the light of day when intellectuals mobilise massively to work together to transform society and the political parties. That’s where I place my hope.

"A policeman attempts to arrest a criminal and is suddenly surrounded by ten to 15 people who insult and threaten him. The cop manages to escape, he calls for back up, but the back up, too, need to withdraw.

Reason: 50 to 60 aggressive people have gathered to oppose the police. What look like scenes from a Hollywood film about tough New York street gangs became quite real on Thursday night in Aachen Ostviertel - and provoked heated discussions at the police headquarters in Aachen's Soers.

"There are some people who probably believe they are in an area with no laws," confirmed police spokeswoman Sandra Schmitz, at the request of the AZ, on the extremely worrying incident. ...

"The citizens in the area feel unsafe - including the police "Our colleague was really afraid for his life," says Schmitz. "Just imagine what would have happened, if he had stumbled during his flight, or had drawn his service weapon."

The leader of Russia’s nationalist LDPR party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, may face criminal charges for “inciting ethnic and religious hatred” following his proposal to implement birth control in the North Caucasus as an anti-terrorist measure.

Zhirinovsky made his controversial statement in a political talk show on one of Russia’s main TV channels, Rossiya-1, which was dedicated to discussing the Volgograd bus bombing earlier this week.

On October 22 an explosive device was triggered by a female suicide bomber from republic of Dagestan in the North Caucasus, killing six other passengers and injuring another 36 people.

Zhirinovsky said on the program that since the main terrorist threat in the country comes from the Caucasus, the whole region should be fenced off with barbed wire.

“We must bring the military, police and FSB [Federal Security Service] there” and impose a curfew, he said.

Zhirinovsky said he believes the main reason for the terrorists’ campaign in the Caucasus is overpopulation, suggesting huge fines for local families who have more than two children.

The passenger bus where a bomb went off in Krasnoarmeisky District of Volgograd. At least five people were killed and dozens injured. The passenger bus where a bomb went off in Krasnoarmeisky District of Volgograd. At least five people were killed and dozens injured.

The Liberal Democratic Party leader’s words provoked an angry response from politicians both in the North Caucasus and in capital, Moscow.

The head of the Chechen Republic, strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov, said that Zhirinovsky’s proposal on birth control was “fascist.”

“He fiercely hates the peoples of the Caucasus, but his hatred for the Russian people is even greater,” Kadyrov said on his Instagram page. “I’m amazed that such an immoral, irresponsible person can be called a politician, to whom important state affairs are trusted.”

Kadyrov demanded that the LDPR leader be punished for his statement, which he said was aimed at inciting inter-ethnic strife as it “insulted millions of Russian citizens on ethnic and religious grounds.”

According to Russia’s 2010 national census, there are currently 9.5 million people living in the seven republics of the North Caucasus, and the population there is predominantly – though not exclusively – Muslim. The density of population in the region is 56 people per square kilometer, compared to just over 8 people per square kilometer for Russia as a whole.

In Moscow, the leader of the liberal opposition Yabloko party, Sergei Mitrokhin, backed calls for Zhirinovsky to be prosecuted.

“Zhirinovsky’s words are of an openly nationalist character,” Mitrokhin was quoted as saying on his party’s website said.

He added that they were aimed at undermining Russia as a multi-ethnic state, which would eventually result in the Balkanization of the country.

Mitrokhin has complained to the Investigative Committee about Zhirinovsky, calling for a criminal case to be brought against the LDPR leader for “inciting hatred or enmity.”

But Zhirinovsky has defended his words, saying that comments about “barbed wire” were more of a figure of speech.

“We’re talking ways to cut off routes that may be used for drug trafficking and relocation of terrorists,” Zhirinovsky told the Interfax news agency in response to Kadyrov’s complaints. “That’s what the road blocks are made for. Does this violate the rights of people, who use the roads? Yes, it does. But it’s done during the curfew. Sometimes barbed wire can also be used and some fortifications can be erected.”

As for birth control, the LDPR leader said that such measures are used in international practice, but he didn’t specify the states which apply them.

Zhirinovsky said that Mitrokhin’s call for a criminal case proved that “he’s not leading a democratic party. He, probably, doesn’t know that there is such thing like freedom of speech and every citizen has the right to express his opinions, proposals and evaluations of events.”

“If we asked to sign this in to law, there would’ve been something to talk about. But, in this case, it’s just an opinion,” Zhirinovsky said.

Zhirinovsky, who positions himself as an ultranationalist and proponent of a strong state, has been one of the most scandal-hit figures on the Russian politics scene for over 20 years.

Numerous court cases and investigations have been brought against him, but Zhirinovsky has remarkably managed to avoid any prison time or serious fines in all cases.

The only memorable court loss he suffered came in 2010, when he was ordered to pay a fine of 1 million rubles (around $31,000) for calling the Moscow city government authorities a “mafia.”

But the ruling was soon annulled by a higher court after Mayor Yury Luzhkov was dismissed by then-President Dmitry Medvedev later that year.

A senior Russian Orthodox cleric has strongly opposed a populist politician’s suggestion to fight terrorism by imposing birth control in the predominantly Muslim regions. The idea has already caused a major scandal.

The head of the Holy Synod’s department for relations between the Church and society, Vsevolod Chaplin, says all peoples must develop freely and have as many children as they consider necessary.

“Russia can have a future only as a community of all peoples that created it and that have formed it over many centuries. This is why the people of the Caucasus who play a serious role in modern Russia’s life and its history, should develop freely, including the freedom to give birth to as many children as they deem necessary. The same applies to the Russian people,” Chaplin said.

The cleric added that the issue of migration, both legal and illegal, was a very acute one, and that the authorities must hear and heed the popular opinion, but noted that “the outrage must not lead to the rooting of fruitless populist radicalism”.

The statement was made a short time after the leader of the populist nationalist LDPR party; Vladimir Zhirinovsky said on a TV talk show that Russian authorities should introduce birth control among the residents of the Northern Caucasus region in order to successfully fight Islamic terrorism. In his trademark fiery style Zhirinovsky said the North Caucasus should be surrounded with barbed wire fences and people inside should be fined for an excessive birth rate.

The 2000-strong LDPR section in the Chechen Republic announced that they were suspending their work; several top level politicians urged a probe to determine if the speech could be considered an instigation of ethnic hatred, and the head of the liberal party Yabloko, Sergey Mitrokhin, suggested Zhirinovsky be put on trial for Nazism.

The LDPR leader later played down his comments, saying that he was only answering a provocative question and adding he really meant the necessity for parents to think about the future for their children, especially in regions with high unemployment. Zhirinovsky also said that his freedom of speech was protected by the Constitution and claimed that 90 percent of ethnic Russians share his point of view.

François Hollande has fallen to 26% of favourable opinions, establishing a record unpopularity for a president of the 5th Republic, in the history of BVA polls.

"In this month of October 2013, François Hollande falls by 6 points, to 26% of favourable opinions (against 73% of unfavourable) breaching the mythical threshold of 30% and at the same time smashing the historical record of unpopularity for a president of the Republic," underlined BVA, on Monday 28 October. The BVA polls began more than 30 years ago.

"In 32 years of polls, a president has never fallen below 30% of favourable opinions," adds Gaël Sliman, general deputy director of the institute.

...On the other hand, Marine Le Pen has achieved a new record of popularity with a 30% influence rating in October, an increase of 4 points. "The Front National is also surging, gaining 4 points to reach 28% of favourable opinions, which now puts them equal with the Socialists [Hollande's party], who now fall 5 points to 28%," adds BVA, specifying that the Socialist Party is experiencing recording unpopularity.

On Saturday, there was a concert of Christian sacred music in the so-called mosque in Cordoba. Somehow it seems satisfying to me that Gabriel Fauré's Pie Jesu is now heard where the mad devotees of Allah once howled and intoned.

It had been raining just before, so the audience wasn't as large as it might have been.

The Liberal Democratic Party suggested
the creation of a placement agency for private homes. The residents were
informed in October 17. about the planned measures for the sheltering of
immigrants.

Of course, there were previous signs
that the project will not go on smoothly. It was mainly the number of
living places included in this plan which was met with skepticism. Klaus Fischer, the chairman of the
Liberal Democratic Party said:

Generally
speaking, both from the perspective of the concerned ones and in view of the
acceptance by part of the residents, the LDP supports a “preferably reduced
public accommodation”.

In order to carry this through, the
Liberals of Wandsbek suggested the creation of a so-called placement agency for
immigrants. The task of this agency would be to arrange the distribution of
immigrants to private homes.

We believe that
given the Germans’ openness and will to help, the sheltering and support of
individual immigrants as well as small groups of them can be an additional and
significantly flexible instrument in order to take control over the staggering
number of immigrants.

Fischer admitted that a placement agency
does not represent a proper solution to all immigrants, but a 5-10% of
allocated immigrants would be a relief regarding the costs of accommodation.

The minimum
term for the sheltering was determined for 5 years. According to the
authorities, there is also the option for the extension of this period.

The state council member Jan Pörksen declared
that it was planned to launch this project as soon as possible. In this way a
significant contribution to the admission of immigrants could be made.

The people in Stutenanger in Oberschleißheim are shocked. In a craze, one of their neighbours has literally beheaded his wife with an axe. Then he cut his own carotid artery. Hasan C. is said to have been a man with two faces, said neighbours. On on the one hand, loving, helpful and nice. In the next second, suddenly irascible and unpredictable.

The 48-year-old is said to have been mentally ill, confirmed by family members. For that reason there were often arguments. Many people knew about the 48-year-old's mental problems and the tensions in his marriage. But not one had expected his madness would one day lead to such a terrible bloody deed. "We are all shattered," said friends.

It was on Friday afternoon at around 4 pm that Hasan C. lost it completely. He raged and screamed. His wife Ulfiye (45) fled to the balcony. Neighbours heard her cry for help. Then there was suddenly a deathly quiet in the high-rise flats in Oberschleißheim.

At around 5.30 pm, one of their daughters looked in on the married couple. The 21-year-old found her parents lying in bed, dead. The father had almost completely cut the mother's head off with an axe. Then the 48-year-old lay next to the corpse and cut his throat with a carpet knife. Hasan C. bled out within a few minutes.

This figure of 270 million victims of jihad seems to have lodged itself in the minds of Counterjihad activists. Pamela Geller, I think, is responsible for popularising it. But it really can't withstand critical scrutiny, so I suggest we should all stop using it.

Watching videos of some of Michael Stürzenberger's public events in Munich, in which he is trying to collect enough signatures to trigger a referendum on whether an Islamic centre should be built, I see him invoke this 270 million figure all the time.

The figure is not reliable, however. Although I'm not exactly a fan of the Little Green Footballs site, in this case their criticism is to the point. The article here demolishes the credibility of the 270 million figure. Geller did not originate this figure. She has simply taken it up from elsewhere. But the data is not solid enough to justify it. Or any other figure that precise, for that matter. Much of the effect of jihad is lost in mists of time and only conjectures about it are now possible. The data sources are simply not there.

Quoting this figure, like the inflated Muslim demographic figures that are sometimes bandied about, just opens us up to criticism from the Establishment. With the effortless debunking that will inevitably follow, it will be easy for mainstream hacks to insinuate that because our figures are unreliable, our concern about Islam is unfounded.

There have now been many incidents in which pigs' heads were buried in mosque construction sites in an attempt to stop the mosque being built. Knowledge of this technique is now widespread in the anti-Islam resistance movement throughout Europe. But are there any instances where it has successfully stopped the construction of a mosque? In short: no. The claim that the soil is defiled by the presence of a pig and can thereafter no longer be used for Islamic worship seems to be based on wishful thinking, ignorance of Islamic doctrine and misinterpretation of one individual case. The case in question was the proposed construction of a mosque in Los Bermejales district in Seville and then its follow-up project in the San Jerónimo district of Seville.

It was probably this that was being referred to by an anti-Islam group in Switzerland when a pig's head was buried in the grounds of a proposed mosque there, accompanied by a written statement claiming that a mosque construction project had been halted in Spain in this way.

This project got off the ground in 2004 and immediately provoked strong local opposition. While the local government was keen to cooperate with the plan, handing over publicly owned land for free to the project's backers, thousands of locals mobilised and protested against it. In 2005 a pig was slaughtered on the grounds of the intended construction site. The saga continued for many years afterwards, however, finally being brought to an end through legal action when a court ruled that it was unlawful for the local government to simply hand over public land for religious purposes free of charge. The construction project collapsed, but only because of massive local opposition and legal action to oppose the initiative. Burying the pig's head had nothing to do with it.

After the mosque project foundered in the district of Los Bermejales, new plans were made to build a mosque in the San Jerónimo district of Seville. Like the earlier initiative, this provoked massive opposition from locals.

A pig's head was also buried in the proposed construction site here.

But all of this failed to halt the initiative. In the end, the mosque construction was indeed stopped, but only because the backers couldn't secure the property deals they needed to allow it to go forward, mainly due to pressure on the property owners from local people.

So trying to stop a mosque by buring a pig's head would seem to be an unsound strategy. It may serve some value by crystallising and publicly dramatising local resistance to Islam but its practical value seems to be close to nil.

But maybe there's something I've missed. So let me ask: does anyone know of a single instance where the burying-a-pig's-head technique worked?

I've written a few times about Rachid Nekkaz, a millionaire Muslim colonist living in France, who offered to pay all the fines imposed on women who wore burkas and attempted to acquire a controlling interest in Charlie Hebdo after it published Mohammed cartoons. He was also a French presidential candidate in 2007. Nekkaz has now done prison time and faces the prospect of more after bribing a mayor to acquire his signature for the presidential candidacy of Marine Le Pen. The French presidential system requires each candidate to have the signatures of a certain number of mayors. Nekkaz claims he wanted to demonstrate that the system was corrupt. So he bribed a mayor to back Marine Le Pen then revealed it to the press. Since bribery of this kind is a criminal offence, the smug Muslim has now been charged.

Three years in prison, including six months in custody, were requested on Thursday for the activist Rachid Nekkaz who appeared in front of Paris correctional tribunal for the purchase of the sponsoring signature of a mayor for the 2012 presidential elections, through which he intended to demonstrate the fragility of the electoral procedure.

From now on, it's in Algeria that Rachid Nekkaz intends to pursue his struggle against injustice and for liberty by becoming the candidate of youth and change in the Algerian presidential elections in April 2014.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Front (FN) party, became the latest target of a trademark topless protest by feminist group Femen during a visit to the town of Fougères in Brittany on Saturday.

Le Pen, in town to meet local FN party members, was greeting Fougères residents at the town’s market when, just inches from the visitng politician, two Femen activists emerged from the crowd and pulled off their tops, shouting “Marine, repent!” – a slogan also written across their torsos.

The activists then switched to a chant of “Sextremism, not fascism,” as they were pulled away by Le Pen’s security team.

There is a post worth reading in the Telegraph (here) about the Communist fellow traveller Angela Davis, who defended the imprisonment of dissidents on the old East Bloc regimes yet still enjoys respect in polite company. After discussing her particular case, the author takes a step back to consider the phenomenon of these deluded intellectuals more broadly.

Paul Hollander explained the 20th-century phenomenon of utopia-seeking among Western intellectuals – the idealisation of other social systems as essentially superior, whatever their "flaws" – as due to estrangement. In other words, a reflexive disparagement of the West, a subculture of alienation, an adversary culture obsessed with the defects of its own society, and convinced that their alienation conferred upon them "a redemptive quality", a "moral absolutism", a "rectitude", next to which errors and misjudgements were small beer (hence their lack of self-criticism, shame, and guilt. Hence the absence of accounting; indeed a culture of discounting). The intensity of the rejection of one’s own society went hand in hand with an imperative: find an alternative, a place to which one can attach oneself.

I find the use of the word "estrangement" here interesting and appropriate. But there is no attempt to analyse where this sense of estrangement or instinct for "reflexive disparagement of the West" might have come from. Of course, the "West" is just another term for European civilisation. The rather obvious insight that non-Europeans might feel a greater sense of estrangement within European civilisation than people of European ancestral origin seems to escape the author, Alan Johnson, or is perhaps considered too delicate to mention. Angela Davis, of course, is a negress. Many of her fellow travellers were Jews. Johnson, as "Editor of Fathom: for a deeper understanding of Israel and the region and Senior Research Fellow at the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM)" is unlikely to want to shed any light on this issue.

If the non-European embrace of ideologies that would tend to destructively transform European societies is ever mentioned at all, it is usually only to present discussion of it in caricature form as the claim of a monumental, malevolent conspiracy. Characterising it in this way makes it easier to mock or knock down. But subconscious empathic bias is a much more plausible explanatory mechanism than conscious ill-will. This, of course, is never addressed, because the Equality Cult tells us that "people are all the same". And everyone in the public sphere must bow to the tenets of the Cult.

A radical Dutch Muslim is holding training camps for co-religionists in our country. A week fraternising in the Ardennes, with the focus on Islam, sports and games; that’s how it sounds on a Facebook page. According to the police and the prosecutor's office, there is something more going on: the young people are being trained to fight in Syria, writes ‘Het Nieuwsblad’.

There is little probability that the radical Abou Moussa is planning a cozy bivouac in the Ardennes forest, say the investigators. The Dutch radical has ties with Fouad Belkacem - the leader of ‘Sharia4Belgium’ - and acts as a mouthpiece for the jihadists of our northern neighbours. He has also stated that he personally knows 80 percent of the Jihad warriors from our region who headed for Syria.

From the message that Moussa had posted on a secured Facebook page it emerges that the camp will be organised from 25th October to 1st November. It will cost the participants 130 euros. There are places for 15 Muslim youths. Seven guests had already agreed to participate. The resort has a sauna and a swimming pool. Moussa himself denies responsibility for the message. In a response he says: “I am not making any trip and I have not organised anything. I was asked to share the message and that is what I had have done”.

The appeal worries the Belgian security services. After all, the camp is not intended to be a pleasant outing among Muslim youth, but a training camp for Jihadi warriors who intend to fight in Syria. Numerous Belgian jihadists had gone on similar excursions in the south of the country before their departure, confirm several sources to the newspaper “Het Nieuwsblad”.

Notify the parents of minors about their possible participation in the training of jihadists in the Ardennes. That appeal was made by MP Bart Somers in the Belgian parliament to the Minister of Home affairs, Joëlle Milquet (CDH). The Minister had stated that in case of criminal offenses, the judicial authorities will be informed and will take their responsibility.

I violently and resolutely accuse successive governments for the total indifference they display towards such a serious and indecent problem, letting the murderers, the torturers satisfy their bloodlust with blades upon the legendary innocence of the lamb delivered up for sacrifice.

Brigitte Bardot

Trappes, you'll recall, is where the last big round of Muslim burka riots took place.

It's very interesting to see the response of the so-called Counterjihad sites to this series of posts, or rather the lack thereof. If I had posted historical articles about African collaboration, or Chinese collaboration, or Coptic collaboration, or Socialist collaboration, or even Christian collaboration, with Muslims, you can be sure that some of these sites would pick them up and link to them. But post about Jewish collaboration and no one wants to hear.

I expect nothing better of the Jews or any other non-European people. We can assume that they will continue to do what everyone other than Europeans always has done, that is to say ruthlessly pursue their own ethnic interests regardless of truth or morality; and it is clearly not in their interests to have the truth about their past or present collaboration with Muslims or their intimate connection to destructive, left-wing, anti-European ideologies like Communism or multiculturalism to come to light. But those of you running Counterjihad websites who are not Jewish should be ashamed of yourselves for your cowardice.

This book was written by a Jewish historian who is obviously sympathetic to the Jews. It was translated from Hebrew by Jews and published by the Jewish Publication Society of America.

A month after the battle near Lago de Janda a troop of horsemen approached Cordova, the principal city of the province of Betica. The troop, numbering about seven hundred men, was led by Mughīth ar-Rūmī, an Arabic officer trained in the court of the caliph in Damascus. As he came near the city, which spread along the northern bank of the Guadalquivir River and was surrounded by a strong wall, he pitched his tent in a thicket on the southern bank and began to explore the environs of the city to search out a vulnerable spot. Moslem warriors marched around the city, while the Gothic forces on the walls watched them closely. The city was tightly shut; no one came out and no one entered. The governor of the city and his men had decided to fight to the last drop of blood and to sell their lives dearly. They were followers of King Roderick, who had formerly been the governor of this region, and were faithful to him even after his death.

All the while, numbers of Jews remained shut up in their houses, impatiently awaiting the outcome. Unlike the Goths and the clergy, they did not fear the invaders who besieged the city, but instead set their hopes on them. For the Visigothic kings had oppressed them sorely and had treated them with extreme cruelty. What memories must have passed through the minds of the Cordovan Jews on those nights as they sat in their houses and heard the footsteps of the guards on the walls....

The Jewish settlement on the Iberian peninsula was a very ancient one and in its early stages had prospered. Even after the Visigoths had established their rule over the land, the condition of the Jewish communities remained favorable for a long time. They earned their livelihood with dignity, and they fulfilled the laws of the Torah and observed its commandments without hindrance.

However, when the Visigothic rulers changed from Arianism to another form of Christianity,Catholicism, in 586, the situation of the Jews changed. A period of disturbances and persecutions began. The synods of the clergy that assembled from time to time in the capital determined the policy of the regime; as a result, at every council that convened, zealous bishops promulgated decrees against the Jews. For their part, the kings vied with the clergy and spurred them on to find ways and means to institute laws to eradicate Judaism from the land. Whether this came from sincere religious zeal or from the avarice with which they eyed the possessions of the Jews, kings and clergy were of one mind -- to embitter the lives of the Jews and to provoke them to change their faith.

In 613 King Sisebut decreed that all the Jews must convert or leave the land. This edict was carried out; thousands were converted to Christianity and thousands left the country. Swintila,who succeeded Sisebut, annulled the edict of conversion, permitted converts to revert to the faith of their fathers, and allowed those who had gone into exile to return. But when King Sisenand came into power, he was inclined to be severe. The council that met in Toledo in 633 decided that the Jews who had become Christians as an outcome of the laws of Sisebut must remain Christians and should be carefully watched, lest they treat any of the laws of the church with disrespect. The king gave this his sanction.

A synod of the clergy in 638, known as the sixth Council of Toledo, decreed that the Visigoths should not tolerate any person who did not believe in Catholicism. It also declared that upon ascending the throne each king should be obliged to swear that he would carry out the laws against Judaism. At that time the ruler was Chintila, who fulfilled the wishes of the clergy. Thus it came about that many were compelled to become Christians and to sign the proclamations requiring their observance of Christian customs. But Chindaswinth, who succeeded Chintila, removed these restrictions. It appears that during his reign the converts returned to their faith and even the exiles came back to their places of habitation.

Chindaswinth's successor, Receswinth, was more zealous than all his predecessors, however,and a veritable oppressor of the Jews. He appeared before the eighth Council of Toledo, which met in 653, and proposed that it renew the decrees of the council of 633 -- namely, that the converts must adhere to their new faith and, moreover, that converts who continued with Jewish observances should be put to death at the hands of other converts. But all this was not enough for this zealot king. He enacted additional laws that would deny to unconverted Jews the possibility to practice their religion and would limit their civil rights.

In their despair, the Jews began to join forces with those who rebelled against the government. In the days of King Wamba, the Jews cooperated with the governor of the province, Nimes,who promised them religious freedom. After the rebellion was put down, the Jews were expelled from the city of Narbonne, which, together with a large area of southern Gaul, belonged to the kingdom of the Visigoths. Three months after ascending the throne King Ervig convened the twelfth Council of Toledo and urged it to use all possible means to extirpate the Jewish religion from Spain. Acting on his proposal, the council decreed that every Jew must convert within a year. It was also declared that the clergy should teach the Jews the tenets and practices of Christianity; converts were obligated to inform the authorities of the names of any former coreligionists who might transgress the laws of the church. Not only were Jews forced to become converted, but the civil rights of even these converts were limited.

King Egica followed a different line. Instead of converting Jews by force, he sought to end their stubborn resistance by means of special privileges, which he offered to converts who would consent to be faithful to Christian practice. He annulled the limitations on the rights of converts but passed stringent laws against Jews who clung to their faith. They were required to sell to the king's exchequer all servants, houses, and land which they had bought from Christians -- all to be handed over to the clergy. The king also ordained that Jews were forbidden to trade with the Christian inhabitants of the Visigothic realm; nor were they to deal in commerce with foreign countries.

The very severity of these enactments is proof that they were not fully executed, and despite the decrees of kings and councils many Jews remained in Spain. Indeed, from the decisions of the councils we learn that Jews bribed the nobles who held the reins of government, and even the clergy themselves, not to enforce these laws strictly. Nevertheless, their plight worsened and they looked for a source of deliverance.

In 694 the Visigothic authorities unearthed a plot by the Jews who were preparing to overthrow the government. According to the Christian authorities, the Jews had joined forces with their coreligionists on the other side of the straits in North Africa and were planning a military invasion that would free them from their oppressors. The seventeenth Council of Toledo, which met at the end of that year, therefore determined to employ more stringent measures. All Jews were turned over to Christian masters as their slaves and were scattered throughout the kingdom. Their masters were obligated to insure that they would observe the practices of the church and to take an oath swearing that they would not set the Jews free. The council further decreed that children over the age of seven be taken from the Jews in order that they might be reared in the spirit of Christianity and married to Christians. Jewish properties were confiscated.

But once again the wheel of fortune took a favorable turn. King Witiza was a more lenient ruler, and the clergy hated him. Christian writers of the Middle Ages claim that he annulled the enactments of Egica. But with the ascent of Roderick, the zealots -- that faction whose goal it was to obliterate Judaism from the soil of Spain -- came into power.

Such were the memories that passed through the minds of the Jews of Cordova. With all their hearts they sided with the Moslems at the gates of the city, but they were powerless to act. Gothic soldiers stood between them and the African besiegers.

One night the skies became overcast and the rains came, followed by hail. The guards on the wall sought refuge from the weather and abandoned their rounds. The Africans took advantage of the darkness, crossing the river at a shallow point. The southern wall of the city was built some fifteen yards or less from the river's edge. When Mughīth's men arrived at the northern bank of the river, they hastened to a point where there was a breach in the upper level of the wall. A fig tree grew near the breach. Quickly they climbed the tree and sprang onto the wall. The first man drew the second one up after him, and within moments a group of men stood on the wall. Immediately they dropped down inside, fell on the surprised guards of the nearest gate, and slew them. They opened the gate, and through it, with drawn swords, streamed the forces of Mughīth.

Here and there an individual sought to resist -- only to be beheaded. Most of the populace barred the doors of their houses and remained quietly within. However, the governor escaped with his forces to a church in the western quarter of the city and fortified himself inside. On the following morning, when the inhabitants of Cordova emerged from their houses into the streets of the city and saw that Mughīth had occupied the governor's palace, they felt the first taste of subjugation. The Jews of the city, on the other hand, exulted. This was the day they had hoped for. They immediately made contact with the Moslem officer, who mobilized them into his army and turned over to them the task of guarding the city.

Mughīth established his forces within the city and lay siege to the church in which the Gothic governor of the city had taken refuge. It was a sturdy edifice, and the Christians within, who numbered about four hundred, defended themselves courageously. The siege lasted three months; then the Moslems succeeded in cutting off the water supply of the Christians, who were compelled to surrender. They were put to death. The governor attempted to flee but was caught and later taken to the caliph in Damascus.

The events at Cordova were repeated in other Spanish cities. Everywhere the Jews rose up and volunteered aid to the Moslems in their war of conquest. Arab chroniclers only relate what happened in the principal cities, but it is quite likely that the same thing occurred in smaller cities and in villages. An early Arabic historian relates that wherever the Moslems came upon Jews, they appointed them as a militia and left a few of their own soldiers with them; then the majority continued on their march of conquest. Another Arabic historian, who (though writing at a later date) drew upon early and reliable sources, repeats these facts, but adds that where no Jews were available, the Moslems had to leave a greater number of their own forces.

From these historical records it is evident that the aid of the Jews was highly important for the Moslems. Since Ṭāriḳ had to leave behind soldiers in cities he had already taken while sending ahead troops to conquer other cities, the vanguard of whose forces threatened his lines of communication, the Moslem commander's small forces grew ever smaller as he penetrated deep into the heart of the country. The cooperation of the Jews was very advantageous to him, since it enabled him to release some of his soldiers from guard duty in the conquered cities and to utilize them as an attacking force in new conquests. It is clear that here and there the Jews gave the invaders important information and also acted as spies – as did the followers of Witiza, who themselves came to the aid of Ṭāriḳ's forces wherever they went.

So it was that in many cities small groups of Moslems, with the aid of their allies, the partisans of the House of Witiza and the Jews, set up the new order. Moreover, because as many of the nobles and officials, the wealthy, and the clergy fled to the north of the country, large numbers of houses and much property were abandoned, and it is certain that the Jews and everyone who helped in the conquest took possession of them. But it was the desire for revenge that primarily motivated the Jews to help the armies of Ṭāriḳ The Moslem invasion gave them the opportunity to repay their oppressors for the wrongs that had been perpetrated upon them and their forebears for many generations.

Source: The Jews of Moslem Spain. Volume 1 by Eliyahu Ashtor, translated by Aaron Klein and Jenny Machlowitz Klein, published by the Jewish Publication Society of America.

I certainly find the story of the Cordoban fig tree curious. How likely is it that an army expecting an attack is going to leave standing a fig tree within jumping distance of the walls? On the other hand, there was, as this chronicler admits, a hostile population inside the walls. The story of the fig tree may well have been invented to serve as a - pardon the expression - fig leaf for what in reality was betrayal by this enemy within.

I've written before about Camp of the Saints, the 1970s novel by Jean Raspail that eerily prefigured our current predicament. In it, hordes of third-world savages hop into boats, come to Europe as uninvited guests, and simply invade and occupy our continent.

The current issue of the French magazine Valeurs Actuelles has an interview with Jean Raspail.

What do you feel about the current situation?

You know, I've no wish to join the big group of intellectuals who spend their time debating immigration… I have the impression that these talks serve no purpose. The people already know it all, intuitively: that France, as our ancestors fashioned it centuries ago, is disappearing. And that we keep the gallery amused by talking ceaselessly of immigration without ever saying the final truth. A truth that is moreover unsayable, as my friend Jean Cau noted, because whoever says it is immediately hounded, condemned then rejected. Richard Millet came close to it, look what happened to him! [See here for more on this].

Is the seriousness of the problem being kept from the French people?

Yes. Starting with the politicians in charge first of all! Publicly "everything's going well, Madame Marquessa". But behind closed doors, they acknowledge that "yes, you're right: there is a real problem". I have several edifying letters on this subject from prominent leftist politicians, from those on the right too, to whom I sent the Camp of the Saints. "But you understand: we can't say it ..." These people have a double language, a double conscience. I don't know how they do it! I think the distress comes from there: the people know that things are being hidden from them. Today, tens of millions of people don't buy into the official discourse on immigration. Not one of them believes that it is an opportunity for France "une chance pour la France". Because reality imposes itself on them, every day. All of these ideas boil in their heads and don't come out.

You don't believe it's possible to assimilate the foreigners welcomed into France?

No. The model of integration isn't working. Even if a few more illegals are escorted to the border and we succeed in integrating foreigners a bit more than today, their numbers will not stop growing and that will change nothing in the fundamental problem: the progressive invasion of France and Europe by a numberless third-world. I'm not a prophet, but you see clearly the fragility of these countries, where an unbearable poverty is established and grows ceaselessly alongside indecent wealth. Those people don't turn to their governments to protest. They expect nothing of them.

They turn to us and arrive in Europe in boats, ever more numerous, today in Lampedusa, tomorrow elsewhere. Nothing discourages them. And thanks to the demography game, by the 2050s, there will be as many young indigenous French as there are young foreigners in France.

Many will be naturalised.

Which doesn't mean they'll have become French. I don't say these are bad people, but "naturalisations on paper" aren't naturalisations of the heart. I cannot consider them my compatriots. We need to drastically toughen the law, as a matter of urgency.

How can Europe deal with these migrations?

There are only two solutions. Either we accommodate them and France - its culture, its civilisation — will be erased without even a funeral. In my view, that's what's going to happen. Or we don't accommodate them at all - that means stop sacralising the Other and rediscover your neighbour, that means those next to you. Which means that we stop giving a damn sometime about these "Christian ideas gone mad", as Chesterton said, or these depraved human rights, and that we take the indispensable measures to distance ourselves, without appeal, to avoid the dissolution of our country into a general métissage [literally race-mixing but used as a sort of equivalent of the English diversity]. I don't see any other solution. I travelled a lot in my youth. All peoples are fascinating but when you mix them too much, it is much more animosity that develops than sympathy. Métissage is never peaceful. It is a dangerous utopia. Look at South Africa!

At the point where we are now, the measures we would have to take would necessarily be very coercive. I don't believe it will happen and I don't see anyone who has the courage to do it. They would need to put their soul in the balance, but who is ready for that? That said, I don't believe for an instant that the supporters of immigration are more charitable than me: there probably isn't a single one of them who intends to welcome one of these unfortunates into his home... all of that's just an emotional pretence, an irresponsible maelstrom that will engulf us.

Is there therefore no solution other than submission or coercion?

There could perhaps be one, but it will only have one chance: isolates where a population that is ethnically and culturally threatened by other communitarianisms could find refuge. Besides, it's already happening: we can see already that the French "de souche" [indigenous] are fleeing the so-called "sensitive" districts. The demonstrations against homosexual marriage are also a form of communitarianism: they testify to the rejection by millions of French people to the "change of civilisations" promised by the Left and by Christiane Taubira. Today, everyone condemns communitarianism, but it could be a solution, at least temporarily. These opposed communitarianisms will reinforce themselves mutually by the animosity they will convey and that will end, finally, in extremely severe confrontations. Even if we don't need to wish that adversity occurs.

You don't believe in a sudden new beginning, as has occurred many times in the history of France?

No. It would require an epic spirit, an appreciation of an elevated destiny for a sudden new beginning to be possible in France. It would require people to still believe in their country. I don't see many of them left. At least reforming from top to bottom the national education system and the audio-visual media, taking away the platform from the teachers and the journalists who are participating in the disinformation... We have desacralised the idea of the nation, the exercise of power, the past of the country. We have put cracks in the statue of France, we have disfigured it (expecially the Left!) to the point where nothing inspires respect any more. The power of the false ideas disseminated by the national education system and the media is boundless. But as for me, I have lived in France for 1500 years, I'm OK with what is mine, and I've no desire for it to change...

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, OCTOBER 24 - After the English, French and Spanish versions, the EU Immigration Portal is now available also in Arabic. "I am very pleased that today the portal will also be available in Arabic and easily accessible to all those who are looking for information about sometimes complicated procedures" the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmstrom, announced.

"Many people who want to move to the European Union do not know what possibilities exist, how to apply for a resident or work permit. This is why in November 2011 I launched the 'EU Immigration Portal'" she added.

The 'EU Immigration Portal' is a website with hands-on information for foreign nationals interested in moving to the EU. It offers explanation of the possibilities of legal migration into the EU and of the risks related to irregular migration. It is intended for potential immigrants, third-country nationals already in the EU and other stakeholders such as governments and NGOs.

The site (http://ec.europa.eu/immigration/) offers more than 600 pages of text, bringing together the EU legislation on immigration and the immigration policies and procedures of the 28 Member States.

Workers, researchers, students and those looking to join their families already in the EU can find information adapted to their needs, about the Member State they are interested in moving to. The Portal also links directly to the websites of national authorities dealing with immigration. Users can also find straightforward information about their rights and whether they need a visa to come to the EU.

Migrants and potential migrants also find a vast contact directory of governmental and non governmental organisations which can help them.

Looking at this page, I see the portal is currently available in only four languages: English, Spanish, French and Arabic. So they have translated it to Arabic before translating it to all the other languages of Europe!

The document we reproduce here is an exercise given by a teacher in a 5th year class - the children are around 13 - in a secondary school in Bordeaux! The children must learn to "find their way around a mosque"! They must therefore learn to locate, on the plan provided, which comes from the mosque in Kairouan, Tunisia, the placement of the qibia (the wall indicating the direction of Mecca), the minaret, the mirhab ("cavity symbolising the presence of Mohammed",... or the minbar (the equivalent of the pulpit for the imam), which also give the children the opportunity to learn lots of new words...

The teacher's (unfortunate) idea? Not at all. He has just used the history-geography manual for the 5th year published by Belin, which begins with a chapter dedicated to the beginnings of Islam.